Patrick Kearney and Mary Edelman Wilson have been best friends for 30 years -- and co-owners in their new venture, Queen Street Gifts & Treats, for just a few months.
"We've always wanted to do something together," she said.
They both came from the interior design world in different ways. Wilson used to own Edelman Leather -- the largest designers of leather for interior design -- in Newtown and New Milford with her family. Kearney was a manufacture's representative calling on architectural firms in New York City.
"We have a nice eye together," she said. "We like natural products, local artists and local craftsmen."
Wilson says she's focused the store not only on gifts (accessories, home decor, tableware, and more) but local arts, crafts and other specialties. Local photographer Joseph Kugielsky and Two Loons Jewelry are among those featured.
Wilson says she hopes her store can fill some big shoes.
"In this town, Lexington Gardens was our place," she said, referring to the gardening and gift store that closed in 2011.
"It's where all of us went to feel good. If you needed a gift for anything, you found it, or you came out with something for yourself. And so that's what we wanted here -- that kind of a store where people came in, felt good, were happy, and came out with something for themselve or for their home."
